More states need to step up for veterans: Guest commentary

Stories about state and federal agencies jockeying for jurisdictional position and about wasted government spending abound. Taxpayers and those who rely on government services typically take the hit for both.

So it’s great news when federal and state agencies work together and when financial and resource investments made to further those efforts pay dividends.

That is the case with the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) Joint Claims Initiative.

After years of a steadily increasing backlog of veterans’ benefits claims exceeding the 120-day duty-to-assist mandate of the USDVA and tens of thousands of California veterans stuck in the morass — many for more than two years — CalVet finally got what it needed to step up to the plate.

With $3 million and 36 limited-term positions authorized by the governor’s budget and office space and equipment provided by USDVA, the Joint Claims Initiative means trained and certified CalVet representatives are now reviewing backlogged claims of California veterans to ensure their completeness and help move them through the federal system.

By March 27, with only 24 members of the 36 approved staff hired and authorized to review claims, the CalVet/USDVA Joint Claims Initiative “Strike Teams” at district offices in Oakland, Los Angeles and San Diego had collectively reviewed more than 11,000 claims since September 2013.

The compensation awarded to veterans through these efforts is substantial: $4 million in lump sum payments (meaning retroactive payments based on the time the claim had been sitting at the USDVA).

Monthly award payments totaling $448,000 have been awarded to those same veterans. That means almost $5.4 million in payments will be going to those California veterans every year for the rest of their lives. That is also money that comes right back into California’s economy.

The award amounts are based only on those which have been reviewed by the strike teams and adjudicated/rated by the USDVA by March 27; consider that only a small percentage of the 11,000 claims reviewed have been rated. CalVet expects the numbers to rise exponentially as the CalVet/USDVA Joint Claims Initiative effort continues.

California is one of only two states working with the USDVA to reduce the claims backlog for their veterans (Texas is the other).

The freedoms we enjoy in this country are ours only because of the selfless, honorable, life-altering and often life-ending service of our men and women in uniform.

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We owe it to them to live up to the bargain we made as a nation when they enlisted and ensure they get the veterans benefits they are entitled to receive.

If the need to live up to our end of the bargain is not enough to inspire other states to step up to the plate on behalf of their veterans, maybe the realization that they are leaving in incredible about of money on the table will be.

Keith Boylan was appointed by Gov. Brown as California Department of Veterans Affairs deputy secretary for veterans services in February 2013. He served in the U.S. Army from 1989-1992 as tactical fire specialist and was deployed to Iraq with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in support of Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Desert Calm.

We owe it to them to live up to the bargain we made as a nation when they enlisted and ensure they get the veterans benefits they are entitled to receive.